


Wings of Courage

by starchitect



Series: Hope [3]
Category: Xenoblade Chronicles
Genre: Cute, F/M, First Kiss, Future Connected got me hyped so here's some Content, High Entia traditions, Kisses, Love Confessions, No Spoilers, Sweet, a small meal in these trying times, aka a headcanon, enjoy, with a dash of self-indulgent nonsense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-09
Updated: 2020-05-09
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:41:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24083011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starchitect/pseuds/starchitect
Summary: “I want you to have this,” Melia begins, presenting the feather. “In Alcamoth, it is customary to give a feather to those you care about in order to show how much they mean to you. It is a representation of the love one has for another.”She pauses, gauging Shulk’s reaction. Nothing bad yet. She continues.“That said, I truly cannot describe how grateful I am to you. You have done so much for me, and it is impossible to thank you enough. Because of you, I got to have experiences like none before it. and your friendship means more than you know.”She swallows. “You… You’re very special to me, Shulk. That is why I want you to have this.”
Relationships: Melia Ancient | Melia Antiqua/Shulk
Series: Hope [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1764547
Comments: 15
Kudos: 42





	Wings of Courage

**Author's Note:**

> I have a headcanon that the High Entia give each other feathers to show their affection so here's this I hope you enjoy :V

“So, you wanted to tell me something?”

Melia turns around to greet the new arrival, eyebrows raised.

“Shulk! You’re here.”

Shulk gives her a sunny smile before joining her. They’re alone by one of the fountains in Alcamoth, as per Melia’s request, and a wide canvas of stars sparkles above them. On a whim, Melia had decided to confess to Shulk despite the inevitable rejection, but now that Shulk is here, she’s suddenly not so sure she wants to do this.

She sighs. “To be honest, I didn’t think you’d come.”

“Of course,” the blond replies, like it’s painfully obvious. “What kind of friend would I be if I didn’t?”

That’s what discourages her. That word— _ friend. _ Deep down, Melia knows they’ll never be more than that, and she doesn’t need to read Shulk’s mind to know he’s never entertained the idea. It’s a known fact at this point.

But she has to do this. She’s not doing this for herself anymore. As her friend, Shulk deserves to know how she feels. It’s not fair to either of them to keep this hidden any longer.

“So… What is it?” Shulk asks, in a tone that implies not insistence but genuine curiosity. Melia almost feels bad for what she’s about to do to their relationship by saying this.

But without another word, she reaches into one of her pockets and procures a medium-sized white feather. It fell from one of her wings about a week ago, and she’s been saving it for this occasion ever since.

“I want you to have this,” Melia begins, presenting the feather. “In Alcamoth, it is customary to give a feather to those you care about in order to show how much they mean to you. It is a representation of the love one has for another.”

She pauses, gauging Shulk’s reaction. Nothing bad yet. She continues.

“That said, I truly cannot describe how grateful I am to you. You have done so much for me, and it is impossible to thank you enough. Because of you, I got to have experiences like none before it. and your friendship means more than you know.”

She swallows. “You… You’re very special to me, Shulk. That is why I want you to have this.”

Melia doesn’t tear her gaze away from the feather. She can feel Shulk’s piercing eyes on her, but she can’t bring herself to meet them. Her cheeks are beginning to feel hot.

“Melia, is this…?”

Shulk trails off, and Melia doesn’t know where to go from here. She really should have thought this out more, but to be fair, she also wasn’t expecting to get this far. She sighs again and shakes her head.

“Forgive me, Shulk. I know not when these feelings developed...but I cannot deny them now.” Her shoulders fall. “Feathers like these are usually exchanged between lovers, but… I understand if you do not feel the same.”

“Melia, I…” Shulk begins again, before his voice fails him once more. He clears his throat.

“I don’t know what to say,” he admits. “Thank you.”

Then, after a brief moment of hesitation, Shulk finally takes the feather into his own hands. Melia still doesn’t move an inch.

“Erm… You didn’t have to say that, by the way.”

At this, Melia forces herself to look up. “What do you mean?”

This time, it’s Shulk’s turn to avoid eye contact. Melia blinks and quirks an eyebrow. Is he...blushing?

“I mean… Uh. Well.”

Confusion deepening, Melia opens her mouth to question the blond, but before she can get any words out, Shulk cuts her off by surging forward and planting a kiss on her cheek. Her heart skips a beat.

The kiss is quick, barely longer than a second, but Melia can still feel the warmth of Shulk’s lips even after he pulls away, face turning bright red. She stares back at him, wide-eyed and breathless.

“You’re not the only one who feels that way,” Shulk says, and Melia’s brain shuts down. “You’re very special to me, too.”

Melia doesn’t need to touch her face to know how warm it is. She blinks again.

“I…”

“Thank you again, Melia. I’ll be sure to treasure this.”

The scientist smiles down at the feather in his hands fondly, and it occurs to Melia that she hasn’t said anything for at least two minutes. Even so, she’s speechless. Is this really happening right now? Did Shulk just say he returns her feelings? And then  _ kiss her?? What??? _

“Are you okay, Melia?”

Shulk is looking at her with concerned eyes now. Why can’t she say something?

“Sorry,” the blond mutters. “I shouldn’t have kissed you all of a sudden like that… You’re not upset, are you?”

“Of course not!” she blurts, and Shulk flinches at her sudden outburst. A part of her wonders why she couldn’t have said something at least thirty seconds ago. “I— I was just surprised, is all.”

“Oh.” Shulk’s face flushes. “Then… Can I kiss you again?”

It takes a second for Melia to process the question. She nods.

“Y-yes. Of course.”

Shulk smiles again, brighter than before, and this time Melia is able to recover from the shock of the situation enough to lean in. When their lips meet, it’s warm and inviting, like the shining sun after a rainy day, and Melia has never felt so much joy and relief than right now. It feels like the impossible weight she’s carried with her all this time has been lifted. She smiles into the kiss.

A moment later, Shulk is the one to pull away first, gasping for air. Melia, meanwhile, is hardly out of breath at all. The air is thinner up here, she realizes. And Homs don’t live so high up on the Bionis like the High Enita—they must have weaker lungs.

Still, Shulk looks adorable like that. Melia is tempted to steal his breath away with another kiss, but he beats her to it, seemingly more eager than she is. As expected, this kiss doesn’t last more than a few seconds, and before long it’s cut short just like last time.

“Don’t forget to breathe,” the High Entia laughs. “You’ll pass out at this rate.”

Shulk’s breaths are heavy, but he smiles. “I know. But,” he kisses her again. “I’ve wanted to do this,” —another kiss— “for a while now.”

Melia doesn’t know what to say to that. Shulk has felt this way for a while? How long has it been?

“Well, I’m glad I could grant your wish,” she hums. Her eyes fall back to the feather, which Shulk still holds in one hand.

“I take it you like my gift?”

Shulk nods, leaning his head on her shoulder.

“Would you like me to give you more in the future?”

Another nod. Melia thinks the blond’s face might split if he smiles any wider.

“I’d love that,” Shulk whispers, and Melia sighs and rests her head against his. Silence falls as a breeze dances by, and whether they’re here for the next few minutes or few hours doesn’t matter anymore, if it ever did. All that matters now is the feeling of the other’s warmth and the whispers of the fountain behind them.

Melia is glad she did this.

**Author's Note:**

> More details on the feather customs:
> 
> -alulas ("fingertip" feathers) represent platonic love, usually given among family members and between close friends  
> -secondary (medium-sized) feathers are always given in a romantic context-- it's common for lovers to gift each other feathers often, similarly to how we gift flowers  
> -the biggest primary feather is always used for a proposal, and it is often presented with a flower-- sometimes the person presenting it will dye it a different color  
> =you can also expect to see couples wearing each other's feathers in their hair on their wedding day-- more often than not, their clothing will reflect what color the feather is (meanwhile white isn't that common, it's usually worn by the emperor/empress when they marry)
> 
> also just wanted to say the first two fics of this series are kinda separate from this one and every fic after it; those first two could be connected to one another, but this one is the beginning of a separate overarching plot


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